Kathleen Wynne warns mayoral candidates to get on board with transit

Premier Kathleen Wynne is signalling to Toronto mayoral candidates not to derail the province’s transit plans.

Ontario's premier says she will work with whomever is elected mayor of Toronto this year on subways and other transit issues. Kathleen Wynne says she trusts that municipal leaders will be 'collaborative' with the province.

Premier Kathleen Wynne is signalling to Toronto mayoral candidates not to derail the province’s transit plans.

Flexing her majority mandate muscles, Wynne on Friday emphasized that reducing gridlock in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area is a top priority and she expects municipalities to work with Queen’s Park.

Reminded by reporters that some mayoral hopefuls want to cancel the already-approved and funded $3-billion Scarborough subway extension and use the money for other transit, the premier suggested that’s a non-starter.

“It is the plan that is in place, but as with all of these things, we need to work in co-operation with all the municipalities,” she said, adding “there is no point in pretending that there doesn’t have to be a good working relationship with the municipalities.”

But Wynne, a former transportation minister who has grown exasperated with the stop-and-go nature of such projects, warned her “commitment to building transit is not theoretical.”

“Look, I assume that all of the candidates that are running understand that building transit in Toronto and beyond is an important part of our economic growth and our community’s well-being,” she said.

“We will work with municipalities, but I sincerely hope that whoever is the mayor of Toronto . . . will work with us in a collaborative way to make the best decisions for their residents.”

Wynne, who is remaining neutral in all mayoral races, made her comments flanked by newly minted Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca at the GO Transit rail yard on Lake Shore Blvd. East.

With mayoral frontrunner Olivia Chow campaigning on cancelling the Scarborough subway and using the money to help bankroll the downtown relief line, the premier was asked if the province would climb aboard that.

“I’m not going to go into those hypotheticals,” she said, mindful the Grits hold all six Scarborough seats and were re-elected there on the subway pledge.

Queen’s Park is contributing $1.48 billion for the Bloor-Danforth line extension with Ottawa agreeing to an additional $660 million and the city on the hook for the extra $910 million needed.

Overall, the Liberals, who won a majority government in June 12, have committed $15 billion for transit in the GTHA and $14 billion for transportation projects in the rest of the province.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.